How to Select a Female Dog for Breeding

If you want to breed puppies, you will need to start with a strong and healthy female dog, known as a dam or breeding bitch. Puppies will inherit the traits of their parents, so choose a dog with the same traits that you want your puppies to have. A health examination with genetic testing can ensure that no diseases or disorders are passed onto the puppies. You should also test the dam’s temperament to make sure that she is friendly to humans and capable of training.

Steps

Method One of Three:Deciding What Traits to Look For

1

Determine what type of dog you want to breed. The types of characteristics that you are looking for will depend what breed or purpose you are looking for in the puppies. Puppies typically inherit temperament, health, and social behaviors from their parents, so it is important to choose a dam carefully.

If you are looking to breed purebreds, you will need to decide if the dog will be a home pet or a working dog. A working dog will require certain traits, such as athleticism, a keen sense of smell, intelligence, or herding instincts, that a pet will not.

If you are looking to produce hybrid puppies, such as a Cockapoo or Labradoodle, you will need to decide if you want to breed two purebreds, a purebred and a mix, or two mixes. You may end up with different characteristics depending on your choice.

If you want to train the puppies to be guide or therapy dogs, you may want to look for breeds that are known to be suited for this type of work, such as Labrador Retrievers, Golden Retrievers, and German Shepherds.[1]

2

Judge the dog according to her breed standard. If you are looking for a particular breed of dog, you can research their respective breed standard. The breed standard is a set of guidelines that describes the physical ideals of that breed.[2] When looking for the breed standard, take in account the dog’s:

General Appearance

Size and weight

Coat

Color

Gait

Temperament

3

Contact local kennel clubs or breeders. If you do not already have a female dog or if you are looking to mate a breeding bitch to your stud, a good place to look is with a breed-specific kennel club or local breeders. Some breed-specific rescue organizations may be able to help you find a dam as well.

If you want to register a purebred litter with a kennel club, you may need to have both parents be registered with that club. Common kennel clubs include the American Kennel Club, United Kennel Club, and The Kennel Club (UK).

4

Check the dog’s pedigree. Behavior, temperament, physical traits, and certain disorders can be passed down through multiple generations. You should make sure that not only the dam is healthy and friendly but that her parents are fit as well. If the dog is registered with a kennel club, you may be able to find her pedigree by contacting the breeder or club.

Knowing the dog’s pedigree will also allow you to make sure that the sire and dam are not closely related. If they are, inbreeding can cause genetic defects in the puppies. Do not mate siblings, parents, aunts, or uncles together. Mating cousins may or may not produce defects.[3]

If you know the breeder of the female dog, you can ask them about the dam’s parents, their temperaments, health issues, and strengths.[4]

5

Choose features that complement the sire. If you know which sire or stud dog you will be using to father the puppies, you should analyze his features as well. Choose a female dog that will improve upon the father’s weaknesses while passing on her own strong traits. The same is also true in reverse. If the female has any weaknesses, such as a thin coat or a short build, you should look for a sire that has a better version of those qualities.[5]

If the stud will be a large breed of dog, such as a Great Dane or Mastiff, do not mate him with a small breed, such as a Norwich Terrier or toy breed. The mother may not be able to carry a litter of large puppies, and you may need to have a cesarean section to remove the puppies.

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Method Two of Three:Evaluating Her Health and Fertility

1

Take her to the vet. A vet will test the female dog to make sure that she is able to breed. The vet will check for eye problems, hip and elbow dysplasia, and diseases. Be sure to inform the vet that you are looking for a female dog to breed, and the vet will be able to tell you if this dog is a good choice or not.

Hormone testing can tell you how fertile a female dog is by evaluating her hormone levels. It can also give you a window of the best time to mate the dogs.[6]

Ask the vet to test for brucellosis. This is a bacterial disease that can spread during mating, and it can cause the dam to lose the litter or to become infertile.[7]

Genetic testing can inform you if the dog is a carrier for any genetic disorders. While susceptibility to genetic disorders can vary from breed to breed, some common ones include hip or elbow dysplasia, autoimmune diseases such as skin, blood, and thyroid disorders, or progressive retinal atrophy.[8]

2

Establish her age. A dog that is too young or too old may have problems when carrying a litter of puppies. Furthermore, some kennel clubs will not register a litter of puppies born from a dog that is below or above a certain age. In general, large dogs can start breeding between 18 and 24 months of age; medium dogs can breed between 15 and 18 months of age, and small dogs can start breeding between 12 and 18 months.[9]

If you have a young dog, you should avoid breeding her when she first goes into heat. Although the dog is sexually mature, she may be too young to successfully carry a litter of puppies.

While the age can vary from breed to breed, generally eight years of age is considered too old to breed a female dog.[10]

If the dog has just given birth to another litter, wait for a few successive heats to pass until you breed her again. This allows her to fully heal from the first pregnancy.[11]

3

Weigh her. An over or underweight dog can have many problems during pregnancy. Ideal weights vary from breed to breed. If your dog is mixed, you should ask your vet what her ideal weight might be based on her size and build.

If you can feel but not see the dog’s ribs, she is a healthy weight. If you can see her ribs, she may be underweight, but if you cannot feel them, she may be overweight.[12]

4

Perform a temperament test. Temperaments tests provide a dog with different types of stimuli. How the dog reacts to these determines if she is responsive, shy, aggressive, or independent. You should not breed shy or aggressive dogs. You can hire a service, such as the American Temperament Test Society, to test the dog. You can also try to a few tests yourself.

Try to put a leash on the dog and take her for a walk. If she walks next to you with minimal tugging at her leash, she may have a good temperament. If she is lunging at small animals, other dogs, or people, it is a sign of aggression.

The dog should willingly play with toys with you. She should not bite or snarl at your over the toys. If the dog is possessive or aggressive over the toys, it is a sign of aggression.

When you pet the dog, the dog should relax. She should be willing to be touched. If she seems tense or if she tries to escape, she may be shy. Growling in this situation is a sign of aggression.[13]

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Method Three of Three:Judging the Dog's Appearance and Abilities

1

Inspect the dog's coat. A dog's coat is a good sign of their health and nutrition. A healthy dam will have a shiny coat. If she is long haired, her coat will be thick. There should be no patches or bald spots in the dog's coat. The fur should be flexible, not brittle or coarse.[14]

If the dog's fur smells, she may have fleas or a bacterial infection. Do not breed her until it is taken care of.

If you want puppies with a particular coat color, try to match the dam and the sire's coat color. While this cannot guarantee you puppies of a particular color, it can increase your chances.

2

Watch how she walks. A gait is often used in breed standards to judge how well a dog walks, but a dog's gait can also help you figure out if she has hip or weight problems. Ask someone to walk the dog while you watch. If the dog is stumbling, unbalanced, or unable to walk straight, you may not want to breed her.

A pacing gait is one in which both legs on side of the body hit the ground at the same time. Overweight or tired dogs may demonstrate this gait. Most breeds are penalized in the show ring for this gait. The only exceptions are the English sheepdog, Polish Lowland Sheepdog, and the Neapolitan Mastiff.[15]

Certain breeds, such as Greyhounds and Miniature Pinschers, have unique gaits. Check the breed standard if you are looking to breed these as show dogs.

3

Observe her working habits. If you are looking for a working dog, such as a herding dog or livestock guarding dog, you should watch her as she works. Test the mother dog on the skills that you want to pass on to the puppies.

For example, if you want a scent hound to sniff out people for search and rescue, have a person hide, and give the dog a piece of their clothing with their scent on it. See if the dog can find the person based on their scent.[16]

If you do not own the dog, ask her owner if you can come by for a demonstration of her abilities.

If you are looking for a dog that can compete in lure coursing, agility courses, herding competitions, or other athletic sports, you might look for a mother that has won prizes in these fields.

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Warnings

If you choose to breed a dog, you become responsible for that puppy. You will have to care for them up to ten weeks, provide their first round of vaccinations, and find them new homes. Puppies are expensive to raise and should not be treated as a money-making enterprise.